AGM batteries - are they better?
Upgrade to an AGM battery. You can safely mount them inside, and upside down, and they will out-perform any flooded battery you ever owned! Here's a quote from another thread. It's typical of other...
Forum Discussion
There are many merits to AGMs. It is quite a long list of small merits that when considered in the aggregate lead me to say:
"Wets are cheaper to buy, AGMs are cheaper to own.".
Re faster charging, yes it is possible to fast charge some AGMs in accordance to their specs. Lifeline allows 500%, or 5C20 which they call inrush; that means 500A into a 100AH battery. Of course, this requires a temperature sensing charger to back off on the Volts/current to prevent thermal runaway. I do believe this will cause a loss of cycles making the benefit not so great except for the possibility. OTOH, a 100A charger is about the most you will find in a MH and few can take advantage of fast charging.
AGMs do charge cheaper though at any rate of current. This is simple math related to their internal resistance being lower. This means that less fuel is wasted to heating the battery. Also, since you don't bubble an AGM, no fuel is wasted breaking apart water molecules to stir the electrolyte. Plus shaving a few minutes from each genny run time can extend the life of the genny and postpone the expense of repair/replace.
HTH;
John
"Wets are cheaper to buy, AGMs are cheaper to own.".
Re faster charging, yes it is possible to fast charge some AGMs in accordance to their specs. Lifeline allows 500%, or 5C20 which they call inrush; that means 500A into a 100AH battery. Of course, this requires a temperature sensing charger to back off on the Volts/current to prevent thermal runaway. I do believe this will cause a loss of cycles making the benefit not so great except for the possibility. OTOH, a 100A charger is about the most you will find in a MH and few can take advantage of fast charging.
AGMs do charge cheaper though at any rate of current. This is simple math related to their internal resistance being lower. This means that less fuel is wasted to heating the battery. Also, since you don't bubble an AGM, no fuel is wasted breaking apart water molecules to stir the electrolyte. Plus shaving a few minutes from each genny run time can extend the life of the genny and postpone the expense of repair/replace.
HTH;
John
